Beth Grimes Emily Bowers Professor Stephanie Shteriman EDU566-S70 25 April 2011
Final Project: Universal Planning Tool
WORKING TITLE Saving a Life—With Physics!
CONTENT STANDARDS (according to http://www.newhavenscience.org/physicscurr.htm) The curriculum area is 11th grade physics in the Connecticut school district. During their second unit, students will discuss: Scalars and Vectors; Kinematics (Motion); Newton’s Laws of Motion; Energy, Work and Power; Impulse and Momentum, and Universal Gravitation. This one and a half week long project aims to cover the following content standards:
Students will calculate the velocity and acceleration of a moving object.
Students will determine the velocity and displacement for objects under constant acceleration.
Students will learn to use and organize strategies for solving motion problems.
Students will use Newton's Laws of Motions in solving problems.
INFORMATION LITERACY/ INQUIRY STANDARDS/ 21ST CENTURY SKILLS The following AASL 21ST Century Learner Standards being implemented in this unit project: 1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context. 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g. textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning. 1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or weaknesses. 2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge. 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information. 2.2.3 Employ a critical stance in drawing conclusions by demonstrating that the pattern of evidence leads to a decision or conclusion. 3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others. 3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts. 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning. 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION How can you apply the principles of Newton’s second law, force and acceleration due to gravity, collision, and resilience to save peoples’ lives?
PURPOSE As we all know, Japan has just suffered a terrible earthquake and they are in desperate need for supplies. You work with a health organization as an engineer and it is your job to deliver the much-needed resources to the people of Japan who are stranded with nothing. However, because of the severe damage and potential health risks involved, we cannot safely deliver the materials to people any other way besides an airdrop. Your task is to figure out the safest way to drop medical supplies in Japan, without breaking/causing damage to them.
To simulate this task, students in teams of two will design and construct a type of container that will keep a raw egg from cracking when dropped from increasing heights, i.e. the classic “Egg-Drop” experiment, taking into account of course, the physics involved. Each team must drop their structure 3 times to ensure stability and durability. The first successful drop earns teams a score of 20/25, two successful drops earn teams a score of 23/25, and three successful drops earn teams a perfect score: 25/25. However, the egg drop is only part of the grading--the student's blog/wiki, poster, reflection paper, mathematical rationale for the design, and job responsibilites within the group are also counted.
In pairs, students will assign themselves the following responsibilities (you must do more than one):
Journal Writer (one person):
Presenter (one person):
Egg Dropper (one person):
Landing Crew (one person NOT the egg dropper):
Disposal/Clean up (all team members):
Poster (all team members)
JOB DESCRIPTIONS Journal Writer: You must turn in a neat, well-written pre-drop analysis on egg drop day that discusses how you engineered your device and how it works in terms of impulse, acceleration, terminal speed, and momentum. You will work with your partner to generate ideas, explaining why the design will work, and detailing the physics behind the design to support your thinking. Explain the role of each part of the design and why you chose to construct the materials as you did, as well as relate concepts of impulse and force to your design structure. Presenter: The presenter, on the day of the drop, will describe their teams design and express how the materials were handled and how their unique design will be likely to protect their egg. The Egg Dropper: The teacher will be dropping all designs from the roof with the team’s egg dropper to ensure safety (and that the structure is properly “dropped”). The egg dropper is responsible for making sure their structure is dropped at the same height as their classmates (and thus not throwing off the calculations). They are also responsible for going down and retrieving their structure from their group member to do 2 more drops. Landing Crew: This person (can’t be the egg dropper) is responsible for the removal of the egg from the structure so that the teacher can check the condition of the egg after falling. Disposal/Clean Up: The teams of two are to clean any mess that might be made in the egg drop. Poster: Before egg drop, the entire team must make a poster for your egg capsule design (which the presenter will present on the day of the drop). You must label all parts of the structure/diagram. The diagram requirements:
Neat (use ruler)
Detailed
Labeled parts
Drawn to scale
Indicate material
Multiple views if necessary (inside/outside or top and side)
Note As engineers, anyone should be able to use your drawings as a blueprint to reconstruct your apparatus for their own use, so make sure it is clear and detailed! Important ALL students will be gathering and calculating data (mass, time, velocity, momentum, force) on the drop day, that will be completed and turned in with the poster and reflection paper.
OBJECTIVE(S)Students will 1. Show their understanding of the concepts: gravity, momentum, force, velocity, terminal speed. 2. Understand how air resistance, or air friction, can slow down the acceleration of a falling object. 3. Work together to implement physics strategies and concepts to ensure the safety of an egg as it falls from a predetermined height. 4. Chronicle their process through a blog or wiki, communicating effectively with their team member to come up with possible designs concepts, hypothesize about their sustainability (the design), defend their rationale with mathematical proof, and then reflect on the work and how they could have improved on their design. 5. Solve problems involving rate as a measure (e.g., velocity, acceleration).
WORK HABITS Students must follow directions, manage time, organize work, work collaboratively, attend to detail, and think creatively and critically. Students must follow directions and complete work in a timely manner. They will be working in pairs on designing a structure for their egg, so they must come in every day with their materials and be ready to work. They must communicate with their teammate outside of class by either maintaining a blog or wiki—they need to discuss/brainstorm design ideas, create designs, consider the mathematical equations and implications involved in their designs, form hypothesis of the success of their designs and select one to work on in class. This is trial and experiment for the teams, so they must communicate both in school and out. They must also communicate well with each other—since they are sharing ideas and designs, they must be respectful of their partners work, and as they collaborate, they must veto designs in a fair and “nice” manner. No put downs, or insults on others differing ideas. Thinking creatively and critically is essential to success for this unit—students are being asked to design different structures to house their eggs—they must think of all possible outcomes and ensure that their reasoning and rationale is sound and backed up with scientific information and mathematical equations. Both teacher and library media specialist will be on hand for questions and advice/guidance. The teacher especially, will be available to model mathematical equations to those that are struggling.
THINKING SKILLS All students are being asked to take on the role of an engineer to complete this task, but they will wear many hats in the course of this assignment. First and foremost, as engineers, students will need to summarize the task at hand, calculate what needs to be done by analyzing the challenge, comparing differing designs that they devise, hypothesize which will work best, and then justify their thinking to their group. Once they have decided on a design, they will construct the egg structure, revising as problems crop up, and then evaluate the results on the day of the egg drop: did their structure survive? Students will also make anologies between this experiment and other real-world situations.
As journal writers, half the students in class students will turn in a pre-drop analysis of how the device was engineered. They will identify the problem, describe their thought process behind the designs, apply their thinking/design to the physics involved, justify their rationale and support it with mathematical citations, and then evaluate their thinking and rate their success on the day of the egg drop.
As the presenter, the other half of students will describe how the materials were handled and what their expectations are of the egg drop. They will defend their positions, list the different methods of their design process, justify their group’s thinking, and identify any errors that they came upon and resolved during the process (for this, the designs must be tested prior to the drop, the data collection processed, and changes made).
All students will add to their prior knowledge of velocity, terminal speed, gravity, acceleration (as we’ve been discussing it all unit) and make connections to those concepts through this egg drop. They will have to revise their thinking (if their egg drop was unsuccessful), support their design (if successful), and evaluate their work as a group overall. All students will be required to write reflection papers and consider: Did you achieve the purpose of the lab? What happened when it was dropped? What worked and what didn’t work about design? How could you improve your design? Also, they will have to explain the process—why did your team ultimately end up with the design it did? Did you support your team(s) thinking—why or why not? What other designs did you (and your group) consider? Why weren’t they pursued? In hindsight, do you think any of your other discarded designs would have been (more) successful? Students will also be asked to "rate" their teammates performance in a separate grading rubric provided by the teacher in addition to the reflection paper. Finally, students have to identify other real-world scenarios that relate to the egg-drop experiment.
FORMATS OF PRODUCTS AND/OR PERFORMANCES
schematic with calculations
apparatus to protect the egg
rationale for your design
chart of drop information
revisions you would make to the apparatus
real life situations in which you could use this knowledge
blog/wiki chronicling the design/thought process
poster of the egg designs structure for class presentations
reflection journal
Materials for the egg drop (and ONLY these materials listed): · One 8.5" x 11" sheet of copy paper · 15 straws · 15 Popsicle sticks · 100 cm of string · 100 cm of masking tape · 5 rubber bands · One raw egg Masking tape cannot directly cover more than 20% than the surface of the egg. (Wrapping the entire egg in tape to prevent it from breaking is not allowed).
AUDIENCE The teacher, classmates (both in physics and those with free-periods), faculty, librarian, American Red Cross and/or other philanthropic organizations, and people on the web (looking at the student blogs/wikis)
ROLE OF LEARNER Scientist, engineer, citizen, detective, inventor, and eye witness (they are all witnessing the egg drops and the outcome).
INSTRUCTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS Teams of two are assigned to complete the egg drop assignment. They will be required to create the apparatus, schematic, rationale, and chart together, as well as keep up a blog/wiki of their progress. They will create a poster board together as well, detailing their design. Each student will be required to individually take on a role(s) for the project as outlined, participate in revisions and consider real life situations. An individual reflection paper, evaluating their group effort, how/why they were successful, what could have been done differently, etc. will also be required.
ACCOMODATIONS This is an 11th grade, physics elective class. All students participating in this class are here because a) they have reached a high level of achievement and understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts, b) because they like/excel in science and want to explore more challenging material. With that consideration, most are high level learners, motivated to do well and achieve success on their own. However, to meet the needs of all students, accommodations must be considered and addressed.
In keeping with that, heterogeneous pairings will be carefully selected by the teacher so that different skill levels are met. For example, a higher level learner will be paired with a lower level learner, to ensure that each work to help each other every step of this process. For those students/pairs that would like to be challenged further (or they complete their egg-structure ahead of schedule), extra mathematical equations will also be provided upon request. For struggling students/pairs, the mathematical equations can be modified, or they can be allowed to not complete as many as required. If students are still struggling, the teacher will model some the equations for those that need it while the rest of the students work on their designs and completing the assignment in their pairs.
For students struggling with the poster and journal (either because their hand writing isn’t “neat” as set forth in the requirements, or they are an ELL student), they can use the computer for help with the diagrams and journal writing. Or, in the case of the ELL student, if he/she is assigned to give the oral presentation for their group, they can give it privately to the teacher beforehand, and/or on the day of presenting use power point slides to guide their speech, or use a pre-recorded video.
The teacher will also be available during class, before school, and after school throughout this entire process to answer any and all questions or problems that may arise. In conjunction with the librarian, the teacher will also monitor the blogs/wiki to offer suggestions and help, and monitor student progress.
TECHNOLOGY/RESOURCES SUGGESTED
Books
Experiments with Motion by Robert Gardner
Mechanics Fundamentals by Robert W. Wood
The Story of Scienct: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
COLLABORATIVE TEACHING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES LMS
Schedule library time with the teacher
Demonstrate how to use OPAC to find books, magazines,and videos relating to the project
Demonstrate how to properly cite sources used
Assist students in finding sources
Help with set up of blogs/wikis
Respond to student blogs/wikis answering questions and offering advice
Help teacher come up with accommodations for students
Place unit resources on moveable carts for classroom use
Contact a local helicopter pilot or cargo plane pilot to speak with the students
Teacher
Implement the project: identify project, goals and planned outcomes.
Create a multimedia product (website) that kids will link their individual blogs/wikis to for the duration of the project (the LMS will help the teacher with this).
Teach lessons on: gravity, terminal speed, acceleration, Newton’s second law, gravitational acceleration, collision, and resilience before the start of the project, but will offer mini lesson refreshers throughout the duration of the project should such needs arise.
Schedule computer lab and library time with the LMS
Assist students in finding sources
Monitor presentations
Grade the final project and presentation
Provide modeling of mathematical equations
Help in the “egg-drop” to ensure safety
Provide materials for the egg drop
Give homework
Respond to blog/wiki entries offering questions/advice
Give assignment due dates
Create assessment tools/rubrics.
Find an area to perform the egg-drop
TIMELINE This unit will occur over the period of eight classes or one and a half weeks. The first day will be in the library, where teacher first explains the project to students and puts them in pairs. The LMS demonstrates how to use OPAC, how to start a blog/wiki, and students have time to research and/or work on the mathematical implications of the project. They assign each other roles in their groups, and get to work figuring out the design concept that they want to experiment with.
Over the course of the next week, students will work on collaborating with their partner to draw and design a structure to support their egg. They will work on it both in school and out (on their blog/wiki), keep a journal/log of their progress (what has been successful, what hasn’t), present their findings, work on the mathematical equations used to support their designs, create a poster to show an in depth look at their egg structure (labeled, with multiple viewpoints), create their schematic and make calculations based on their idea, build the actual apparatus, drop the egg and the student-made design, record their findings in a data chart, and then write a reflection. The reflections will include: why they created their structure, what worked/didn’t work, how they would do it differently; and they will apply their thinking and results to the real-world situation in Japan—would their theories work on a larger scale? Students will, on the last day of the project, discuss the overall experience of the egg drop and share their thoughts and/or share what they would do differently if given more time.
BREAKDOWN OF SUGGESTED TIMELINE (Eight classes or one and a half weeks)
Day 1 – (LMC) The teacher explains the project to students and puts them in pairs. The LMS demonstrates how to use OPAC, how to start a blog/wiki, and students have time to research and/or work on the mathematical implications of the project. They assign roles to each group member and figure our the design concept they want to experiment with. Day 2 – (Classroom) Students create their schematic and make calculations based on their idea. The teacher will make available the necessary materials for beginning to build the structure, should students find that they would like to try experimenting with their design concepts. Day 3 – (Classroom) Students start building the actual apparatus and finalize calculations from the previous day. The LMS drops by to make sure that everyone understands how to use a blog/wiki, and answers any questions they may have. The LMS could also take aside those students that are the presenters in their group and offer them suggestions for how to present. The LMS could also help the students that need accomodations (either for a power point, or a pre-recorded video for their presentation) by either showing them how to work with the aforementioned programs and/or making available the technology. Day 4- The students are given time to continue working on their egg structure and work collaboratively on their poster. They must remember to bring in their poster supplies to make good use of their time. Day 5- Teacher gives a review of the entire unit as students continue to collaborate out of school through their blog/wiki, and keep a journal of their progress. WEEKEND - Students test their apparatus at home and make changes and mathematical corrections. Day 6 - (Classroom) Final day to work on the project in class. Students finalize all materials such as apparatus, journal, and poster. Those that are presenting the next day will be given the opportunity to go down to the library to work with the LMS to finalize their presentations. If they don't need the LMS's help, they can still use the time to practice their speech. Day 7 – (Classroom/Drop Site) All presenters will present their posters to the class before going outside. Students drop their apparatuses with the egg from increasing heights and record this data in a chart. For homework that night, students will be asked to write a reflection paper on the experience. They will post it to their blogs/wikis (so that the other students in class can read them) and hand in a hard copy the next day as well. Day 8 – (Classroom) During the first half of class, the class discusses the overall experience of the egg-drop experiment and hand in their reflection paper. The teacher will share some real-life examples from students’ blogs. Before the unit is complete, students will also be given a rubric to score both their performance, as well as their partner's, to hand into the teacher. This culminating project will serve as their final assessment of the unit.
Works Cited American Association of School Librarians. "Standards for the 21st Century Learner." AASL: American Association of School Librarians. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://tinyurl.com/blkh3k>.
Emily Bowers
Professor Stephanie Shteriman
EDU566-S70
25 April 2011
Final Project: Universal Planning Tool
WORKING TITLE
Saving a Life—With Physics!
CONTENT STANDARDS (according to http://www.newhavenscience.org/physicscurr.htm)
The curriculum area is 11th grade physics in the Connecticut school district.
During their second unit, students will discuss: Scalars and Vectors; Kinematics (Motion); Newton’s Laws of Motion; Energy, Work and Power; Impulse and Momentum, and Universal Gravitation. This one and a half week long project aims to cover the following content standards:
INFORMATION LITERACY/ INQUIRY STANDARDS/ 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
The following AASL 21ST Century Learner Standards being implemented in this unit project:
1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g. textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or weaknesses.
2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.
2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.
2.2.3 Employ a critical stance in drawing conclusions by demonstrating that the pattern of evidence leads to a decision or conclusion.
3.2.3 Demonstrate teamwork by working productively with others.
3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts.
4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.
4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How can you apply the principles of Newton’s second law, force and acceleration due to gravity, collision, and resilience to save peoples’ lives?
PURPOSE
As we all know, Japan has just suffered a terrible earthquake and they are in desperate need for supplies. You work with a health organization as an engineer and it is your job to deliver the much-needed resources to the people of Japan who are stranded with nothing. However, because of the severe damage and potential health risks involved, we cannot safely deliver the materials to people any other way besides an airdrop. Your task is to figure out the safest way to drop medical supplies in Japan, without breaking/causing damage to them.
To simulate this task, students in teams of two will design and construct a type of container that will keep a raw egg from cracking when dropped from increasing heights, i.e. the classic “Egg-Drop” experiment, taking into account of course, the physics involved. Each team must drop their structure 3 times to ensure stability and durability. The first successful drop earns teams a score of 20/25, two successful drops earn teams a score of 23/25, and three successful drops earn teams a perfect score: 25/25. However, the egg drop is only part of the grading--the student's blog/wiki, poster, reflection paper, mathematical rationale for the design, and job responsibilites within the group are also counted.
The break-down of grades are as follows:
Egg-Drop.......................................................................25pts
Blog/Wiki.......................................................................25pts.
Poster & Mathmatical Rationale....................................20pts.
Reflection Paper............................................................20pts.
Job Responsibilites/Peer Review.................................10pts.
In pairs, students will assign themselves the following responsibilities (you must do more than one):
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Journal Writer: You must turn in a neat, well-written pre-drop analysis on egg drop day that discusses how you engineered your device and how it works in terms of impulse, acceleration, terminal speed, and momentum. You will work with your partner to generate ideas, explaining why the design will work, and detailing the physics behind the design to support your thinking. Explain the role of each part of the design and why you chose to construct the materials as you did, as well as relate concepts of impulse and force to your design structure.
Presenter: The presenter, on the day of the drop, will describe their teams design and express how the materials were handled and how their unique design will be likely to protect their egg.
The Egg Dropper: The teacher will be dropping all designs from the roof with the team’s egg dropper to ensure safety (and that the structure is properly “dropped”). The egg dropper is responsible for making sure their structure is dropped at the same height as their classmates (and thus not throwing off the calculations). They are also responsible for going down and retrieving their structure from their group member to do 2 more drops.
Landing Crew: This person (can’t be the egg dropper) is responsible for the removal of the egg from the structure so that the teacher can check the condition of the egg after falling.
Disposal/Clean Up: The teams of two are to clean any mess that might be made in the egg drop.
Poster: Before egg drop, the entire team must make a poster for your egg capsule design (which the presenter will present on the day of the drop). You must label all parts of the structure/diagram. The diagram requirements:
- Neat (use ruler)
- Detailed
- Labeled parts
- Drawn to scale
- Indicate material
- Multiple views if necessary (inside/outside or top and side)
NoteAs engineers, anyone should be able to use your drawings as a blueprint to reconstruct your apparatus for their own use, so make sure it is clear and detailed!
Important
ALL students will be gathering and calculating data (mass, time, velocity, momentum, force) on the drop day, that will be completed and turned in with the poster and reflection paper.
OBJECTIVE(S) Students will
1. Show their understanding of the concepts: gravity, momentum, force, velocity, terminal speed. 2. Understand how air resistance, or air friction, can slow down the acceleration of a falling object. 3. Work together to implement physics strategies and concepts to ensure the safety of an egg as it falls from a predetermined height. 4. Chronicle their process through a blog or wiki, communicating effectively with their team member to come up with possible designs concepts, hypothesize about their sustainability (the design), defend their rationale with mathematical proof, and then reflect on the work and how they could have improved on their design.
5. Solve problems involving rate as a measure (e.g., velocity, acceleration).
WORK HABITS
Students must follow directions, manage time, organize work, work collaboratively, attend to detail, and think creatively and critically.
Students must follow directions and complete work in a timely manner. They will be working in pairs on designing a structure for their egg, so they must come in every day with their materials and be ready to work. They must communicate with their teammate outside of class by either maintaining a blog or wiki—they need to discuss/brainstorm design ideas, create designs, consider the mathematical equations and implications involved in their designs, form hypothesis of the success of their designs and select one to work on in class. This is trial and experiment for the teams, so they must communicate both in school and out. They must also communicate well with each other—since they are sharing ideas and designs, they must be respectful of their partners work, and as they collaborate, they must veto designs in a fair and “nice” manner. No put downs, or insults on others differing ideas.
Thinking creatively and critically is essential to success for this unit—students are being asked to design different structures to house their eggs—they must think of all possible outcomes and ensure that their reasoning and rationale is sound and backed up with scientific information and mathematical equations.
Both teacher and library media specialist will be on hand for questions and advice/guidance. The teacher especially, will be available to model mathematical equations to those that are struggling.
THINKING SKILLS
All students are being asked to take on the role of an engineer to complete this task, but they will wear many hats in the course of this assignment. First and foremost, as engineers, students will need to summarize the task at hand, calculate what needs to be done by analyzing the challenge, comparing differing designs that they devise, hypothesize which will work best, and then justify their thinking to their group. Once they have decided on a design, they will construct the egg structure, revising as problems crop up, and then evaluate the results on the day of the egg drop: did their structure survive? Students will also make anologies between this experiment and other real-world situations.
As journal writers, half the students in class students will turn in a pre-drop analysis of how the device was engineered. They will identify the problem, describe their thought process behind the designs, apply their thinking/design to the physics involved, justify their rationale and support it with mathematical citations, and then evaluate their thinking and rate their success on the day of the egg drop.
As the presenter, the other half of students will describe how the materials were handled and what their expectations are of the egg drop. They will defend their positions, list the different methods of their design process, justify their group’s thinking, and identify any errors that they came upon and resolved during the process (for this, the designs must be tested prior to the drop, the data collection processed, and changes made).
All students will add to their prior knowledge of velocity, terminal speed, gravity, acceleration (as we’ve been discussing it all unit) and make connections to those concepts through this egg drop. They will have to revise their thinking (if their egg drop was unsuccessful), support their design (if successful), and evaluate their work as a group overall. All students will be required to write reflection papers and consider: Did you achieve the purpose of the lab? What happened when it was dropped? What worked and what didn’t work about design? How could you improve your design? Also, they will have to explain the process—why did your team ultimately end up with the design it did? Did you support your team(s) thinking—why or why not? What other designs did you (and your group) consider? Why weren’t they pursued? In hindsight, do you think any of your other discarded designs would have been (more) successful? Students will also be asked to "rate" their teammates performance in a separate grading rubric provided by the teacher in addition to the reflection paper. Finally, students have to identify other real-world scenarios that relate to the egg-drop experiment.
FORMATS OF PRODUCTS AND/OR PERFORMANCES
Materials for the egg drop (and ONLY these materials listed):
· One 8.5" x 11" sheet of copy paper · 15 straws · 15 Popsicle sticks · 100 cm of string · 100 cm of masking tape · 5 rubber bands · One raw egg
Masking tape cannot directly cover more than 20% than the surface of the egg. (Wrapping the entire egg in tape to prevent it from breaking is not allowed).
AUDIENCE
The teacher, classmates (both in physics and those with free-periods), faculty, librarian, American Red Cross and/or other philanthropic organizations, and people on the web (looking at the student blogs/wikis)
ROLE OF LEARNER
Scientist, engineer, citizen, detective, inventor, and eye witness (they are all witnessing the egg drops and the outcome).
INSTRUCTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Teams of two are assigned to complete the egg drop assignment. They will be required to create the apparatus, schematic, rationale, and chart together, as well as keep up a blog/wiki of their progress. They will create a poster board together as well, detailing their design.
Each student will be required to individually take on a role(s) for the project as outlined, participate in revisions and consider real life situations. An individual reflection paper, evaluating their group effort, how/why they were successful, what could have been done differently, etc. will also be required.
ACCOMODATIONS
This is an 11th grade, physics elective class. All students participating in this class are here because a) they have reached a high level of achievement and understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts, b) because they like/excel in science and want to explore more challenging material. With that consideration, most are high level learners, motivated to do well and achieve success on their own. However, to meet the needs of all students, accommodations must be considered and addressed.
In keeping with that, heterogeneous pairings will be carefully selected by the teacher so that different skill levels are met. For example, a higher level learner will be paired with a lower level learner, to ensure that each work to help each other every step of this process. For those students/pairs that would like to be challenged further (or they complete their egg-structure ahead of schedule), extra mathematical equations will also be provided upon request. For struggling students/pairs, the mathematical equations can be modified, or they can be allowed to not complete as many as required. If students are still struggling, the teacher will model some the equations for those that need it while the rest of the students work on their designs and completing the assignment in their pairs.
For students struggling with the poster and journal (either because their hand writing isn’t “neat” as set forth in the requirements, or they are an ELL student), they can use the computer for help with the diagrams and journal writing. Or, in the case of the ELL student, if he/she is assigned to give the oral presentation for their group, they can give it privately to the teacher beforehand, and/or on the day of presenting use power point slides to guide their speech, or use a pre-recorded video.
The teacher will also be available during class, before school, and after school throughout this entire process to answer any and all questions or problems that may arise. In conjunction with the librarian, the teacher will also monitor the blogs/wiki to offer suggestions and help, and monitor student progress.
TECHNOLOGY/RESOURCES SUGGESTED
COLLABORATIVE TEACHING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
LMS
Teacher
TIMELINE
This unit will occur over the period of eight classes or one and a half weeks. The first day will be in the library, where teacher first explains the project to students and puts them in pairs. The LMS demonstrates how to use OPAC, how to start a blog/wiki, and students have time to research and/or work on the mathematical implications of the project. They assign each other roles in their groups, and get to work figuring out the design concept that they want to experiment with.
Over the course of the next week, students will work on collaborating with their partner to draw and design a structure to support their egg. They will work on it both in school and out (on their blog/wiki), keep a journal/log of their progress (what has been successful, what hasn’t), present their findings, work on the mathematical equations used to support their designs, create a poster to show an in depth look at their egg structure (labeled, with multiple viewpoints), create their schematic and make calculations based on their idea, build the actual apparatus, drop the egg and the student-made design, record their findings in a data chart, and then write a reflection. The reflections will include: why they created their structure, what worked/didn’t work, how they would do it differently; and they will apply their thinking and results to the real-world situation in Japan—would their theories work on a larger scale? Students will, on the last day of the project, discuss the overall experience of the egg drop and share their thoughts and/or share what they would do differently if given more time.
BREAKDOWN OF SUGGESTED TIMELINE (Eight classes or one and a half weeks)
Day 1 – (LMC) The teacher explains the project to students and puts them in pairs. The LMS demonstrates how to use OPAC, how to start a blog/wiki, and students have time to research and/or work on the mathematical implications of the project. They assign roles to each group member and figure our the design concept they want to experiment with.
Day 2 – (Classroom) Students create their schematic and make calculations based on their idea. The teacher will make available the necessary materials for beginning to build the structure, should students find that they would like to try experimenting with their design concepts.
Day 3 – (Classroom) Students start building the actual apparatus and finalize calculations from the previous day. The LMS drops by to make sure that everyone understands how to use a blog/wiki, and answers any questions they may have. The LMS could also take aside those students that are the presenters in their group and offer them suggestions for how to present. The LMS could also help the students that need accomodations (either for a power point, or a pre-recorded video for their presentation) by either showing them how to work with the aforementioned programs and/or making available the technology.
Day 4- The students are given time to continue working on their egg structure and work collaboratively on their poster. They must remember to bring in their poster supplies to make good use of their time.
Day 5- Teacher gives a review of the entire unit as students continue to collaborate out of school through their blog/wiki, and keep a journal of their progress.
WEEKEND - Students test their apparatus at home and make changes and mathematical corrections.
Day 6 - (Classroom) Final day to work on the project in class. Students finalize all materials such as apparatus, journal, and poster. Those that are presenting the next day will be given the opportunity to go down to the library to work with the LMS to finalize their presentations. If they don't need the LMS's help, they can still use the time to practice their speech.
Day 7 – (Classroom/Drop Site) All presenters will present their posters to the class before going outside. Students drop their apparatuses with the egg from increasing heights and record this data in a chart. For homework that night, students will be asked to write a reflection paper on the experience. They will post it to their blogs/wikis (so that the other students in class can read them) and hand in a hard copy the next day as well.
Day 8 – (Classroom) During the first half of class, the class discusses the overall experience of the egg-drop experiment and hand in their reflection paper. The teacher will share some real-life examples from students’ blogs. Before the unit is complete, students will also be given a rubric to score both their performance, as well as their partner's, to hand into the teacher. This culminating project will serve as their final assessment of the unit.
Works Cited
American Association of School Librarians. "Standards for the 21st Century Learner." AASL: American
Association of School Librarians. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://tinyurl.com/blkh3k>.
"NHPS Physics Curriculum Overview." NHPS. New Haven Public Schools, 2001. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.newhavenscience.org/physicscurr.htm>.